§ Mr. Campbell-SavoursTo ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) how many awards the Health Service Superannuation Branch makes each year to staff suffering back pain or back injury for(a) National Health Service permanent injury benefit and (b) National Health Service temporary injury benefit;
(2) what is the number of claims each year for national health service ill-health retirement pensions because of back pain or back injury;
(3) what is the amount of national health service ill-health retirement pensions paid out each year for retirement due to back pain or back injury;
(4) how many claims the national health service's superannuation branch receives each year for (a) national health service permanent injury benefit and (b) national health service temporary injury benefit, due to back pain or back injury;
42W(5) what is the total amount of (a) permanent injury benefit or (b) temporary injury benefit paid out each year to national health service staff suffering back pain or back injury;
(6) how many ill-health retirement pensions awards the national health service makes each year for retirement due to back pain or back injury;
(7) what is the total number of awards paid for (a) national health service permanent injury benefit and (b) national health service temporary injury benefit;
(8) what is the total number of claims each year for national health service ill-health retirement pensions;
(9) what is the total amount of national health service ill-health retirement pension paid out each year;
(10) what is the total number of claims each year for (a) national health service permanent and (b) national health service temporary injury benefit;
(11) what is the total amount paid out each year for all awards of (a) national health service permanent injury benefit and (b) national health service temporary injury benefit;
(12) what is the total number of ill-health retirement pension awards the national health service makes each year.
§ Mrs. Virginia BottomleyIn England and Wales during 1990–91, the NHS pension scheme received approximately 7,400 applications for ill-health retirement pension of which 7,092 were awarded. In the same year, approximately 1,200 permanent injury benefits were claimed and 1,097 were awarded. Six hundred and thirty of these were one-off lump sum payments, the remainder included a continuing pension. By the end of the year, continuing injury benefit pensions totalled 2,636. Total permanent injury benefit expenditure for the year was £6,493,000, including one-off lump sums and pensions increase. Total temporary injury allowance expenditure was £1,441,000.
Details of temporary injury allowance numbers, separate costs for ill-health retirement pensions and applications, awards or expenditure divided by medical condition are not available centrally and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.
There are parallel schemes for the NHS in Northern Ireland and Scotland. Information for these is a matter for my right hon. Friends the Secretaries of State for Northern Ireland and for Scotland.